


Physical Touch

by MoreCuddleFics



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Clingy!Tony, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Gen, No Plot/Plotless, Platonic Cuddling, Tony Stark Cuddles, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but i swear he's fine, hospital bed cuddles, just a bit loopy, no seriously like he's sooooo clingy, the fact that that's not a tag makes me sad, tony gets shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-05-16 20:47:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19325794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoreCuddleFics/pseuds/MoreCuddleFics
Summary: If you ask Tony Stark on a normal day how he feels about physical affection, he'll tell you the next person that tries to hug him will get a repulsor blast to the face. However, if you walk in on him cuddling a certain spider-baby while he's high on pain meds you might get a different answer.





	Physical Touch

_Words of affirmation_

The computer screen displayed it for all to see. The team had recently become infatuated with this online quiz that claimed to accurately tell you which of the five love languages fit you best—words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, acts of service, or physical touch. Just about everyone had confirmed the accuracy of their results. They had been badgering Tony to take it for a good two weeks until he finally relented. That’s how he got here, with the earth’s mightiest heroes crowded around his computer, shoving each other out of the way to be able to know Tony Stark’s love language.

“’Words of affirmation,’” Rhodey read, a bit of doubt in his tone. A quick glare from Tony made him pause for a second before realization dawned on him.

“I don’t see how you’re surprised,” Clint spoke up, his tone light and amused. “Of course it’s words of affirmation. Stark here loves for you to feed his ego.”

When everybody seemed to accept that, Tony almost let out a cry of relief. His plan had worked! It had worked so well, in fact, that Clint’s first thought was almost word perfect to what he wanted them to think, exactly what he had wanted to accomplish.

When the team had first become interested in this quiz (for whatever crazy reason they had), he’d looked into it by himself and discovered that it was indeed one of the most accurate tests on this subject. He knew that they were eventually going to make him take it, and, more importantly, he knew they were going to make him show them the results. And that would be all fine and dandy if he didn’t have a sneaking suspicion of what the results would be. He could’ve been wrong, but he didn’t want to risk it. 

So, Tony secretly took the test by himself before he agreed to take it in front of the others. He was completely honest with it since no one was around to see it. When he got his result, his suspicions were confirmed.

_Physical touch_

He knew it was true. He craved physical affection from those he loved more than he’d even admit to himself. Nothing calmed him quite like having Pepper or Peter in his arms, whether that was through hugging or cuddling. Those two were the only ones who really knew. Rhodey knew that he enjoyed it more than he let on, but the man had no idea how much more that actually was.

But there was a reason only Pepper, Peter, and Rhodey knew. It was because that particular bit of information did not fit with his mask. The one he had carefully cultivated over the years. The one that had been his armor long before the Ironman suit. The one that was made of arrogance and sass and fake indifference. The one that he made to cover up the vulnerable part of him that went soft for a scraggly kid from Queens or the part that lit up with childlike glee when his fiancé said she had made his favorite meal or the part that simply wanted a hug.

Furthermore, Tony’s love language did not fit with the Stark name. Stark men were made of iron. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that someone’s first thought of him wouldn’t be “man of steel” if they knew he was a cuddler.

Now, words of affirmation, that fit perfectly. His "huge" ego was what made up most of his mask. The question was, how could he get "words of affirmation" as his result in stead of "physical touch"? The answer was simply enough. He had an AI right? All he has to do was get FRIDAY to find out which answers would get him his desired results.

So, that's exactly what he did. Now there was no question in anyone's mind that he was not soft. Well, other than Pepper, Peter, and Rhodey, but they were exceptions from the beginning.

\---------------

Two weeks later, everything was going well. The team had talked Peter into taking their little quiz after Tony had taken it (not that it had taken much convincing because for some reason the kid had seemed just as fascinated with it as the rest of them had been), and his results really weren’t surprising, especially not to Tony. 

_Physical touch_

They all knew the Spider-ling showed love through physical affection. He was basically famous for his hugs; not even Tony could deny them (He would blame it on the kid’s puppy dog eyes while making a show of reluctantly accepting the hug. Later, when they were away from prying eyes, he would pull Peter into his arms as quickly as possible, and Peter would giggle and joke about how serious he took the whole “denying-your-snuggly-side” act). The kid definitely responded well to it too. When he was upset, it didn’t matter what you did—hug him, hold his hand, run a hand though his hair—as long as the reassurance was physical, he would almost always calm down. Although, it helped a whole lot more if it was the right person doing the reassuring. There wasn’t much speculation on who that was.

After Peter had taken the test, the team had lost interest since Peter was the last member to get their results. It hadn’t been mentioned in a while, and Tony was just thankful they had moved on.

Then they had been sent on that mission. It was so incredibly simple that Tony had scoffed when he had been assigned to help out. At least it was supposed to be simple. All they needed to do was go undercover and get some intel for a later mission. Tony hadn't thought about the fact that undercover meant no suit. Just as they had snatched what they were told to retrieve from an enemy agent’s computer and were on their way out, Natasha stopped them with a glimmer of suspicion in her eyes. 

The next thing Tony knew, a gunshot rang out and white hot pain ripped through his shoulder. He crumpled to the ground with a pained cry and watched on as Nat took out the gunman with ease. Light and sounds began to fade out. He vaguely registered Natasha calling his name and the suit forming around him before he lost his grip on reality.

\---------------

The first thing Tony processed when he woke up was that someone was holding his hand. The next thing was that his thoughts felt fuzzy. He didn't dwell on it too much, too preoccupied with trying to identify the person holding his hand without going through the inconvenience of opening his eyes. Easier said than done. He started to run his thumb over the person's knuckles, completely overlooking the fact that it would be near impossible for him to figure out who it was by what their hand felt like alone. Thankfully, he didn't have to try much longer.

The hand gripped his a little tighter. "Mr. Stark? Are you awake?" Peter. Of course it was Peter. Tony would know that voice anywhere. A dopey grin made its way across his face, and suddenly it was easier to open his eyes knowing that when he did, he'd be looking at his kid.

"Hey Petey-pie," Tony croaked, the goofy smile never fading, even when he saw the remaining worry in his kid's eyes.

Peter huffed a laugh at the nickname but didn't comment on it. "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain? Do you need anything? Water? Food? A blanket-"

Tony cut off Peter's rambling. "Cuddles," he said with a decisive nod. The kid cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy which only served to make both his smile and his desire to hold his kid grow. Peter was just too gosh darn adorable for his own good.

"Come again?" Peter asked after a couple of seconds.

Tony rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "I want cuddles!" He didn't quite realize how whiny he had sounded. All he knew was Peter was so far away and the only contact he had with him was his hand and that was not enough. He would not be happy until he had a spider-ling on his chest, and if he had to whine to get said spider-ling to hurry it up then so be it.

But all Peter did was chuckle again before he said, "They have you on some pretty strong pain meds." 

"Peterrrr." Tony's grin turned into a pout after realizing that Peter wasn't making any move to join him on the bed. "Don't make me beg, kid."

Finally, Peter seemed to take his request seriously, but Tony's pout deepened when his kid gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, Mr. Stark, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed on the bed with you. I don't want to hurt you or mess up any of the monitors or anything."

"But I want snuggles," Tony responded as though that would change anything.

Yet again, Peter laughed at him. "You're whiny when your loopy, Mr. Stark. Way more clingy than normal too. Usually I'm the one asking for cuddles."

Tony just glared at him before a nurse walked in, stealing his already fuzzy attention for a little bit.

"Oh! You're awake," she chirped cheerily. "We have you on some pretty heavy pain meds, so you should be good for the time being, but you let someone know if you start to get uncomfortable."

She looked like she was gonna say something else but before she could, Tony broke in. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Can he get up here with me?"

"I'm sorry?" Why couldn't anyone understand his need to hold his child. Was it really too much to ask?

He sighed in frustration. "Is it ok if he gets on the bed with me? He wouldn't do it because he thought he wasn't supposed to so please tell him otherwise so I can hold him." 

A muffled groan turned his attention back to his now blushing kid. What had he said?

"Don't mind him," Peter addressed the nurse. "Apparently, the meds are making him clingy. I totally understand if I can't be up there with him. I definitely don't want to cause him any pain."

"Actually," the nurse responded, causing a smirk to spread across Tony's face. "It should be alright for you to lay with him as long as he doesn't jostle his shoulder."

"See, Pete, its fine. Now come here already." Tony opened his arms and his smirk widened when he saw how quickly his kid climbed up on the bed and snuggled into him. It seemed Peter had needed the comfort just as much as Tony had.

"Happy now?" Peter asked with a playful smile.

"Not quite yet," Tony responded before shifting Peter to where he was fully on top of him. Truth be told, Peter had been on his left side and therefore had been putting uncomfortable pressure on his wound, but he would never tell him that. The kid had too big of a guilt complex and would probably go straight back to sitting in the chair by the bed for fear of hurting him again. The new position was much better. "There."

He felt Peter smile and nuzzle his face further into his chest. After getting what he had been wanting this whole time, Tony finally realized how exhausted he was. He vaguely registered the nurse saying something about....something. He didn't really know. All he knew was his kid was finally safe in his arms and that was enough for him to drift into a restful sleep.

\---------------

The next time Tony woke up, his mind felt a little clearer, but not much. There was a comforting weight on his chest and his hand was submerged in the softest curls he'd ever felt. He swore he would never let his kid anywhere near hair gel again.

For a while he just stayed in the happy, content place between sleep and reality. He was safe. Peter was in his arms and he was safe. They were both safe. They were both content. Until he heard the door open.

He cracked an eye open just to make sure it wasn't a threat, and was met with a bunch of concerned, confused, and slightly shocked looking Avengers. He closed his eye and debated going back to dreamland before deciding against it. He might as well let them know that he's okay. 

But before he could say anything, Peter beat him to it. "Hey, guys." Tony smiled a little at the fact that the kid was handling his company for him. Maybe he could convince them that he was asleep and tell them to come back later. He did love his team, but all he wanted at that moment was to go back to sleep with Peter still on his chest.

"Pete, what are you doing?" came Steve's voice. Maybe it wouldn't be as easy as he'd thought it'd be to get rid of them. "You know he doesn't like to be smothered like that."

"Yeah, Pete, you should get off him," Clint spoke up, and boy did that make Tony mad. "There's no way he's gonna like it when he wakes up to find you on top of him."

"That's probably really uncomfortable for him too, Pete," Natasha said. "I know you probably need the physical reassurance, but that's just not how Tony best shows and receives affection. It's probably better to give him some space."

That was the last straw. Tony opened his eyes and glared at his team while tugging Peter closer to his chest. "I'll have you know that I do not in fact need space, and I do best receive affection through physical touch; I just made you believe otherwise, so ha!" Tony grinned triumphantly at proving them wrong, Peter groaned into Tony's chest, and the rest of the Avengers looked impossibly more confused.

"Don't mind him. He's just loopy," Peter explained from his position on Tony's chest. "But now that the cat's out of the bag, what he said is true: his love language is most definitely physical touch, even though he tricked you into believing it was words of affirmation. He actually really likes it when people he trusts touch him. The meds he's on seem to make him even clingier too, so even if he hadn't just blurted out the secret that he tried so hard to hide, you guys would've probably figured it out within the next thirty seconds of your visit."

"So," Clint said after a beat of silence. "You're telling us that Stark here is a cuddler?"

"Yeah, but please don't make fun of him for it or tell anyone. I'm afraid if that happens he might stop giving hugs and stuff, and that'd be terrible because he gives like the best hugs ever." Tony's dopey smile returned when he heard that. He couldn't help but bend his head down a bit to kiss the crown of his kid's head.

"You're hugs aren't too bad either, underoos."

"So, Tony," Bruce spoke up. "Now that we, um, know, can we....can we touch you?"

Tony hesitated a moment before shrugging his shoulders (a bad idea when you have a bullet hole in one of them) and saying, "Sure."

And that's how Tony Stark ended up falling asleep in a hospital bed with two spies petting his hair, a super soldier and a genius scientist holding his hands, and a spider-baby curled up on his chest.

**Author's Note:**

> Not super proud of how this turned out, but I kept procrastinating it so finally I just made myself finish it. Anyways hope you liked it! Comments are very much welcomed : )


End file.
